Retained Clients

Serosensa's real-time admin goody-box built for retained clients.

We originally designed Amplify as a superior way to update our retained clients here at Serosensa. After we linked it to Harvest and rolled it out as a surprise to our clients, their feedback was amazing. They told us they were impressed. They told us it made their lives simpler and richer. They told us they loved it (see testimonials).

So we got to thinking, surely any agency that uses Harvest and the monthly retainer model (just like us) could use this to impress their own clients and earn a lot of trust with the transparency, confidence and convenience that Amplify brings to the relationship.

As a design agency that has many retained clients, we know Amplify works because we understand exactly what agency-client relationships are like. Your clients have to have complete confidence in what you're telling them, because that's the only proof they have of how much time you have spent on them - what you tell them! - meaning trust is the main currency of the whole relationship. It's what turns a one-time customer into a long-term client and it's the sole motivation for building Amplify.

Try the latest version of the Harvest add-on Amplify for 60 days, without charge or commitment, and let us know what you think.

Client Dashboard

Real-time reporting for retained and ad-hoc clients

The Retainer Dashboard

The Ad-Hoc Dashboard

Lightroom Photography Library - for your clients

All in one place and accessible from anywhere in the world

If you ever produce photography for your clients you'll love Amplify. If you use Adobe Lightroom to edit and manage your photography library, it's effortless! Every single shot is easily organised and available in each of your client's Amplify dashboards. They'll love the convenience and the time you're giving them and any changes to any photos sync seamlessly.

You can even cleanly curate your photography into albums, and when you're syncing to Lightroom Mobile, it's insanely easy!

In 3 clicks or less your clients will find the shot they need, whether it was shot last week or 5 years ago, whether you have one small album or 50 epic collections for them, clients can easily browse, download, like and feedback with comments on any connected device in the world.

Amplify's Dashboard Dials

The Heart of Amplify

The central dial is without doubt the most important device in the whole of Amplify. It confirms your retainer's allowance, usage, progression and efficiency in an incredibly simple dial, absorbable in a flash. Remaining hours are displayed explicitly in the centre and include any rollover brought forward from last month (if you want to use the rollover feature). You don't have to calculate anything. The orange dial begins each month at 100% (all this months pre-purchased hours + any rollover from last month). As the month, and the work you do for your client progresses the orange dial decreases. Concurrently, the white dial grows with chronological progression of the current month (empty on the 1st and 100% full by the end of the month).

Combining these 2 dials gives your clients a powerful comparison of the rate you're using their hours against progression of the current month, illustrating how efficiently your time and their money are being used. Over the course of each month, the rate the orange circle is consumed should mirror the rate at which the white circle builds. If the orange consistently leaves a gap to the white, you have a great illustration to suggest they up their hours.

The dashboard also boasts 4 smaller supporting dials which bring Amplify's rollover feature into its own. These offer more elaborate information as to the current state of each client's account - ensuring your clients are always incredibly comfortable with the flexibility that rollover gives them.

The first 2 dials are used to illustrate rollover from last month, with the first dial offering a summary of how last month finished and the second explicitly displaying rollover hours - which are at risk if not used within the month they rollover to.

The third dial shows the potential amount of hours each client can accrue for use next month. ie If no more hours are used in the current month they will rollover and be available next month to make the total shown here.

Finally the overtime dial plainly shows how many hours' work you have done past their pre-paid retainer hours to be charged in excess of the retainer at your standard rate.

Feature Requests

If you think something is missing, let us know!

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The Retainer Model

Everything Simplified. The Retainer Explained.

The Upsides

No Surprises - As well as keeping your design and promo work far more consistent, retainers are great for controlling your clients' variable expenses and making long-term planning far easier as their marketing budget will typically be the same every month.

Better Hourly Rate - The main appeal of retainers is that your client's pre-payment and loyalty are supplemented by a discounted hourly rate.

Full Feedback - Your clients get access to the full 'bells-and-whistles' version of Amplify built for retainers, which gives you succinct reporting on everything they need to know in real-time. If you choose to rollout Deep Scrutiny (coming in V4) incredibly transparent itemised reports are also available anytime, whatever your clients need to know - whether they need updating on the last 15 minutes or every hour spent ever, for a specific project or your entire account - the detail is there.

Flexibility - We understand that creative requirements vary from month to month, so Amplify has been built to offer rollover of one month for any unspent hours, so your clients' work requirements can be variable whilst their costs remain steady. eg If they retain 10 hours per month, you can use 5 hours one month and 15 the next - no problems ...and no extra charges for them. Rollover is optional and can be turned on or off as required.

The Downside

Pre-Paid - Clients will have to pay for each month in advance.

Commitment - Typically your clients are contracted to a rolling agreement subject to a set notice period for cancellation (3 months in this example). Meaning if they decide it's not for them, they'll still be tied in to 3 more payments. On the plus-side, the rollover model Amplify offers means that they can spend those hours over the following 4 months.

Risk of Wastage - As any unspent hours rollover to the next month only, any hours unspent after 2 months of becoming active are wasted. eg Should a client not request any work for 3 months, they have effectively paid for that first month and got nothing in return. As part of the monthly retainer model, this money is not refunded. Don't worry though, Amplify has your back, transparently reporting the threat of wastage with the 'Hours at Risk' dial on the main dashboard. In practice, wastage happens very rarely, but is still typically more cost-effective than the price of fewer hours billed without the retainer discount and your clients were always kept abreast in real-time throughout the month.